


Not just a New Job

by latte_underco



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Businessman Shiro, Chicago (City), New Job, Obvious Infactuation, Pining, Slow Burn, Swearing, only tagged as vld because shiro, trixie is like remastered allura
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23519971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latte_underco/pseuds/latte_underco
Summary: He certainly looked strong, perhaps he boxes in his spare time. Maybe soccer? No, he’s not a tackle-guy. Goalie? He’d have more scars than that... or maybe he skates and once took a slice to the face? No, not a skater. How much longer she was going to brainstorm every possibility? She had no idea until Primrose entered the room.
Relationships: Shiro (Voltron)/Original Female Character(s)





	1. interviews are breezy, right?

**Author's Note:**

> i'll pretend that this fic was two years in the making to cover up the fact that it's been forever. hello again, friends! a quick note; this fic is purely tagged to be voltron because sexy business man shiro is on the brain and i guess you can count trixie as an allura-like figure. there are a fair few oc's, but if you squint then each one is a subtle reference to a voltron character. i hope that voltron is still relevant...

“You’d think that at least some of these ass-hats would have the initiative to run the simplest information by us, wouldn’t you?” Primrose, Heaven’s first impression and hopefully future colleague, spoke almost as frantically as she was walking. More like jogging by this point. Heaven struggled to keep up with her, with three bulky Tolka-Tech research folders bursting from her arms and the rescheduled board meeting due in three and a half minutes making it all the more anxiety-inducing just to walk. 

The company Heaven was being interviewed to work for, Tolka-Tech, had offered her an internship almost a month back. One that she’d only just taken them up on and plucked up the courage to interview for. Despite her spending almost every waking moment that past month dreading all the headaches she’d have to meditate away, she decided that she needed the money. Financially stable was a title she’d forever aimed for, but despite her motivation and persistence as a student, she’d landed with a degree in something she didn’t even know existed until university. She kept telling herself that it wasn’t so bad in all honesty, because she always could have ended up in a dead-end florist or something, so becoming an HR intern at Chicago’s most well-known IT Company was incredible.

“Seriously, can no one in this whole damn building run a simple notice? Even just, ‘Hey, you know that board meeting that could have a girl’s job hanging in the balance? Yeah, that got changed to today.’” Heaven had to remind Primrose that slating the company she worked for could cost her a job, and advised her to keep her voice down. Primrose huffed through her nose as you two of them passed desk after desk of hurriedly typing HR specialists and generalists; jobs that Heaven could only hope for.

The buzz of the office she knew she’d soon grow to hate simmered as they neared the boardroom, and she started to feel more nervous than before. This interview felt like finals all over again, finals that just so happened to include the company of several directors and recruiting managers. Even the founder of Tolka-Tech, Ms. Trixie Lu-Tolka was due to be there (bloody good name, if you asked Heaven). If Heaven screwed up in there, she’d be sure to never see the light of those office floors again.

Primrose straightened her navy blazer and took a few short breaths in preparation. Heaven had thought about wearing some usual work attire that consisted of a modest and painfully bland shirt-and-skirt combo, but at the last minute decided that last year’s Christmas eve dress was ready for its comeback. Primrose took Heaven’s files from shivering fingers before standing with her back straight and shoulders level, silently nodding in Heaven’s direction to encourage imitation of her stance. Primrose then lifted her free arm to check her watch.

"You're due," She beams with a smile and opens the door to the conference room with a ‘good luck’ nod and grin.

“Ms. Lu-Tolka, your interviewee, Miss Heaven Mae,” Primrose walks one step into the room to introduce Heaven, holding the door while she walks in. Heaven turns her head to wordlessly thank Primrose as she scans the rest of the people that sat in the huge expanse of table, most of whom were eyeing Heaven like prey. Around half of them were despotic looking men in suits, and the other half sour-faced women who Heaven guessed had been working there for at least fifty years. 

Ms. Lu-Tolka occupied the seat at the far end of the room, head held high and the only person in the room wearing colour. She wore a wine-red blouse with pearly buttons lining the front, and thick brown locks sat steadily on her shoulders. As she stood to greet Heaven, she revealed slim leggings in the same colour of her top and glossy black pumps. 

Heaven met Ms. Lu-Tolka halfway across the room, confirming the hello with a soft handshake and an exchange of a sweet smile for her incredibly shaken and nervous one.

“Ms. Lu-Tolka, is there anything I can get you? Tea? Water?” Primrose spoke from the door with a calm voice. 

“Oh, a jug of water for the table would be great. Thank you, Primrose,” Ms. Lu-Tolka spoke sweetly, and with underlying authority. 

“Of course,” Primrose said before leaving the room, and Heaven watched as she was left to her own devices. Ms. Lu-Tolka addresses the fact that Heaven is still standing, and offers the one spare seat situated in the middle of the large glass table that filled most of the room. Heaven takes the seat, allowing herself a quick gaze around, having never entered a conference room before.

Exceptionally clean floor to ceiling windows lined the longest wall, overlooking the lively streets eighteen floors below, and one-way mirrors covered the wall through to the rest of the open-plan floor offices, allowing those inside to see out, but no one outside to see in. If she was in a horror movie, all logic would be screaming at Heaven to leave with extreme haste, because if nowhere else, that room would be the one she’d be slaughtered in. A dozen hungry business savvies with a preference for fresh, intern meat? Sounds like an obvious demise.

Ms. Lu-Tolka re-seated herself before apologising for the inconvenience of rescheduling and proceeded to introduce the men and women that surrounded her. Each either raised a hand or nodded at Heaven when their name was said, and Heaven tried her best to reply with a smile. Ms. Lu-Tolka made her way down the table, and as she reached the end, a brand new sight graced Heaven’s eyes. How she hadn’t noticed this man as soon as she walked in she had no idea, but those smooth shoulders and that stubbly jaw certainly had her attention now. 

“And this is Mr. Shirogane. He is our BIA for the marketing database on the twenty-first floor," Ms. Lu-Tolka announced. The man’s deep grey eyes met Heaven’s, and he gave her a half-smile and a nod. 

“That’s BIA for Business Intelligence Architect,” Ms. Lu-Tolka added.

Upon further inspection, Mr. Shirogane bore a black undercut, from which a palm-sized tuft of contrastingly white hair stuck out, like nothing she’d ever seen before. Was it white from stress? She wouldn’t have been surprised if it was, just from the length of his job title she could assume that he suffered from more chronic headaches than ever imaginable. As she took in more of his face, she couldn’t help but wonder the cause of the scar that stretched from nose to cheek. He certainly looked strong, perhaps he boxes in his spare time. Maybe soccer? No, he’s not a tackle-guy. Goalie? He’d have more scars than that... or maybe he skates and once took a slice to the face? No, not a skater. How much longer she was going to brainstorm every possibility? She had no idea until Primrose entered the room.

Heaven was almost startled by the emergence of such a large glass jug of water. Primrose smiled in Heaven’s vague direction and proceeded to fill everyone's glass halfway before placing the jug at the end of the table. She left after having received Ms. Lu-Tolka’s thanks. 

"Now..." Ms. Lu-Tolka began, "...let's talk business," She intertwined her fingers and leaned forward across the table, staring at Heaven. Now, all Heaven had to do was get through the interview without coming across as a complete dick.

As the interview progressed, Heaven became fully aware that this Mr. Shirogane was having a concerning effect on her ability to stay focused. He’d nod thoughtfully at everything she said, never missing a beat. Despite this though, Heaven was able to answer every question with what she hoped was enough intelligence to satisfy. After each answer she gave, the other businessmen and women would scribble shorthand into their notepads, making Heaven both worried and oddly hopeful at the same time. She had no idea if more writing was good or bad, but she was going to assume for the sake of her sanity that she was making a good impression. 

“I have a question for our interviewee,” A low but silvery voice caught everyone’s attention, including Heaven’s, and heads turned from one end of the table to the other. Mr. Shirogane rose from his seat.

"Fire away!" Ms. Lu-Tolka consented, leaning back in her chair. Heaven tried to hide the fact that her hands were beginning to shiver by sliding them between her thighs, well, as much as her dress would let her. 

“So, Miss Mae,” He pondered. The amount of intimidation radiating from him allowed Heaven to be comforted but alert, and strangely it was the strong scent of his cologne which ceased the feeling of fear in her chest.

“Which of your qualities do you feel are well suited to this job?” Mr. Shirogane spoke.

“I-I like to think of myself as hardworking, I'll work extra hours should I be required... and I’m perseverant in all areas, definitely not one to back down from a task,” Each word was slightly quieter than the last, but could you blame her? Mr. Shirogane had the job title of one of the most important men in the business.

“Mhm... and out of interest, how would you describe your ideological boss? I mean, do you have any requirements in mind to fully enjoy working here?”

A fair question, but Heaven was taken aback.

She allowed herself a moment to think before answering with more internal confidence than before, “I guess someone who’s firm but fair. I’m here to work, primarily, so I guess personality shouldn’t matter...”

She swallowed thickly as Mr. Shirogane gave a satisfactory hum. Ms. Lu-Tolka piped up, "Well, I do believe that brings us to the end of our time," and Heaven let out a small sigh or relief.

“You will be notified of our decision within the next day or so, but I expect the results will be positive. It was very nice meeting you, Miss Mae," Ms. Lu-Tolka beamed as she walked over and took Heaven’s hand, her grip kind and assuring.

“Thank you, Ms. It was a pleasure,” She couldn’t help but grin at how the interview had gone. She knew that there was still a chance she wouldn't get the job, but Ms. Lu-Tolka’s praise and reassurance had led her to believe, at that moment, that she could actually pull this off. Everyone stood from the table, nodding and smiling at Heaven as she muttered her goodbyes and turned to the door. Before she could open it however, a much larger hand took the liberty. Heaven drew her arm back and spun her head to see Mr. Shirogane gazing down at her.

“Oh, um... thank you, sir,” Heaven manages before stepping out of the door, only turning back to hear his reply of, “No problem. I hope to see you here again, Miss Mae.”


	2. callbacks aren't so bad

It was a mere matter of hours before Heaven received a call from an unknown number. It was around 10 pm and she was in the midst of brushing her teeth when the buzz of her phone echoed through the apartment. She dropped her toothbrush, spitting into the sink before wiping her mouth on her sleeve and sprinting into the bedroom. The call had progressed to the 9th ring by the time she was able to dive across her bed and snatch her phone from the charger on the bedside table, determined to answer before it went to voicemail. That wouldn’t have been such a great second impression.

“Hello?” Heaven chimed into the speaker.

“Miss Heaven Mae?” A familiar voice flooded the line.

“Yes, speaking...”

"Ah, good. This is Mr. Shirogane from Tolka-Tech; I believe we conversed briefly during your interview for a role as an HR intern?" Heaven’s chest swelled at the knowledge of who she was talking to.

“Ah, yes. Great to hear from you, sir,” Her words felt as if they were being punched from her throat.

“Glad you picked up. So tell me, how do you think you did in the interview?”

“Um... I don’t like to give my hopes up, but I don’t think I did terribly...”

“Well you’re certainly not wrong, and I’m very pleased to be the one to tell you that you got the job.” 

Mr. Shirogane's words rang in her ears. Thank god.

“Oh, that’s amazing! Thank you so much,” A faint giggle was his reply to her reaction and moments after, his voice returned.

“It’s no problem, you performed very well. I can appreciate that there was a lot of pressure riding on today. And personally, I can really respect how calm and collected you were.”

Damn, absolute score.

“Oh… I’m so glad to hear that… it means so much, really.”

“It’s no problem. Oh and on another note, considering that on your CV you added that you were willing to start immediately should you be accepted, you will be expected to be at the main building’s reception at 9am sharp tomorrow morning...”

9am. Noted.

“...I’m afraid we must enforce strict rules from the beginning to ensure your loyalty to the business. I do hope that’s convenient?”

“Of course, that’s absolutely fine!” Heaven assured, perhaps a little too enthusiastic. It was still an early start, new job or not.

“Oh and the loyalty thing… it’s just a mandatory expression. At the moment I have no concerns about your dedication, especially as I seem to recall you describing yourself as very well suited to this job. Particularly resilient.”

"You have a... good memory, yes.” 

Smooth.

“A good memory is pretty essential when you work in an intelligence database that’s shaped around figures. And lots of them. I assure you I wouldn’t have my current job if I had the memory of the average American. Anyway, you’ll be here at 9am?”

“Yes, I’ll be there. Is there anything else I should bring or have in mind for tomorrow?”

“Hmm, good planning. Nothing particularly, just dress smart and wear your best business face, you will be provided with a tour of the building as well as your desk location and files. Any stationary you'll need will also be waiting for you there."

“Wow... thank you.”

“It’s no problem. Oh, and you’ll be working for me, hence me being the one to call you.”

Oh God. There was no way. Surely not, surely there’s someone else she can work for, she'd struggle to get anything done with Mr. Shirogane being the one to provide her files and host her meetings.

“Ah...”

“Is that... okay? I do hope you’re not disappointed,” He gave a small giggle.

Oh God.

“Y-yeah, it’s perfect. Only I uh...”

Quick, Heaven, think!

“I... didn’t know that someone so high up in the company had interns working for them... wouldn’t you prefer someone who knew what they were doing?”

Nice save.

“Ah... well funny you say that actually, because usually I don’t accept the interns. Only, there was something I saw in you that I feel I’m missing in my department. No job change, really just… under new management. I do hope that’s alright for you...”

“Oh no, it’s okay! It’s great, really great. I guess I’ll save you the awkward conversation trying to get me transferred to someone else.”

“Don’t worry about that, having you transferred is easy, I’m more concerned as to whether you’ll be happy.”

Of course, he could get me transferred with the click of his fingers... Heaven thought. But also, how charming that he was genuinely interested in her happiness...

"Well, I'm completely happy if you are, sir."

“Great. I look forward to working with you, Miss Mae.”

“You too. Until tomorrow, Mr Shirogane.”

“Until tomorrow.”

The speed at which Heaven threw her phone to the bed and rushed to the fridge was rather unbelievable. How had her life become so much crazier in a matter of minutes? And secondly, more importantly, how on Earth was she meant to adjust so rapidly to the early-start regime? Yes, Heaven had known exactly what she’d signed up for, she’d read the job description at least twenty times over before the interview, and reviewed the company’s website at least fifty within the month of procrastinating she’d done even before applying. But something about the prospect of reverting back to her high school and college days (which weren’t in all honesty that long ago) of waking up at six and departing at half past seven were daunting. Heaven remembered rather vividly the absolute horror of awakening to the scream of her alarm, and the oh-so tempting idea of hitting snooze. 

Though it never worked out like that. Ever. Don’t even mention the moment at which she'd realize that she'd slept in, by an hour, and that feeling of having all of the color stripped from her face as she'd process that nightmare.

But right now, with the help of a massive beer and the calm buzz of the streets below, Heaven was able to flee all apprehension and fully shut down before tomorrow. 

Heaven slumped onto her window-facing loveseat, almost spilling the beer in the process. Her crimson hoodie clumped around her waist and her black bed shorts rode up incredibly uncomfortably, but she managed to suppress the urge to drop everything just to bow down to the overtaking feeling of a piece of cotton riding up her ass, as was often the case. With her expression as plain as it always managed to be when she was without company, she took sip after sip of her beer.

Heaven hummed the acoustics of a song she couldn’t be bothered to remember and half-heartedly picked up a disregarded magazine she’d spotted next to her on the sofa. She one-handily flicked open the pages, leaving the fate of the contents up to her fingers. The headline that appeared on the page she'd opened barely grabbed her attention but intrigued her enough to read it in full procession. It immediately made Heaven ascend from her seat and discard her beer down the sink, heading to bed for the night and leaving the magazine open on the sofa. Nearly as weird a headline as when Heaven had witnessed a woman being banned from the chinese buffet for shitting in the seaweed. A wondrous good-night thought.

**Author's Note:**

> i'll be posting more chapters bit by bit but for now, thank you for reading :)


End file.
